OSCE concludes workshops on international co-operation and mutual legal assistance in asset recovery for South-Eastern Europe
The OSCE held an online workshop on international co-operation in asset recovery and cross-border collaboration for 11 criminal justice practitioners from Bosnia and Herzegovina from 3 to 5 March 2021.
The workshop focused on the exchange of evidence and global intelligence and aimed to boost the capacity of criminal investigators in addressing transnational criminal cases, in particular relating to asset tracing, freezing, confiscation and repatriation.
In addition to formal legal assistance requests, the workshop examined regional and international tools and mechanisms that can be used before the formal start of the mutual legal assistance process, which enables international collection and sharing of information and evidence.
Following theoretical sessions, participants conducted simulated investigations of transnational criminal cases where they applied theoretical, strategic and practical skills gained at the workshop.
The workshop, jointly organized with the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, was part of the training courses organized in the framework of the OSCE extra budgetary project, “Strengthening the fight against transnational organized crime in South-Eastern Europe through improved regional co-operation in asset seizure, confiscation, management and re-use”. This project is jointly implemented by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the Office of the OSCE Co-ordinator of Economic and Environmental Activities, with financial support from the United States, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.
